Opinion

From Library Staff

Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order whose motto is "Community, Identity, Stability."--all at th... Read More »

This book took some getting used to. A main protagonist does not appear until around page 42, and then the book switches focus halfway in. Despite this, I found it a haunting and enjoyable read. The way the government uses consumerism to control its population can be seen even now. The need to "Buy new clothes" is conditioned into every citizen's brain, and the drug soma keeps them content and not realizing the real problem in the world. The only families exist in reservations where citizens of the World State can visit them. The ending is very disturbing, and will leave you thinking for a long while afterward.

Everybody knows that Brave New World and 1984 are the cornerstone of dystopian future novels, but I feel like 1984 regularly receives more attention. I absolutely love Brave New World, and think that, if anything, our current society is in a situation more similar to the over-consumption in Brave New World than the authoritarian state of 1984.

Brave New World is party a social commentary, partly a story that the author, Aldous Huxley, used to express his ideas about society. It ends up being either an old dystopian, or utopian story, depending on your point of view. Throughout the book, Huxley uses some characters and settings to explore “problems” that he finds in 1932 society. It appears everyone in the book is given a choice between civilized servitude and primitive ignorance. Upon looking closer, we realize that it is more an allowance of sorts, and not a choice. This is one of the struggles that the character’s face: some do not agree with the way that society is run, but they struggle to pull away and truly see everything that is wrong with the community.

Okay. If you want to see what someone accurately predicted about our present world circumstance from 60 years ago this book is amazing. I almost fell out of my chair reading it for some of the astounding predictions Huxley made in 1958 that are spot on about how society has changed since then. He did not use vague generalities but direct detailed predictions based on his remarkable, almost supernatural, understanding of human nature. Do not read this if you have grave doubts about our future now...for human over population and the growth of mega billionaires makes our destiny very dark indeed. But, if you want to be prepared for what is going to happen to the human experience on planet Earth next, read this book. Nostradamus can step aside...he is a pure amateur compared to Huxley!

An incredible read. The antithesis of 1984. This novel is a complete masterpiece. Set far into the future, the world’s values seem to have transformed to the point where one would not even be able to recognize the society in Brave New World as an offshoot of our own. Sex and drugs are pervasive, but not because of what you might think. These people are not trying to rebel or do anything wrong in general – they are following conventions. As surprising as it sounds, drugs, sex, and other forms of pleasure are actually used to control society and quell any desire to rebel. Their philosophy is simple – maximize pleasure to forget life’s miseries. Rating: 4.5/5
- @JuiceboxZ of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library

Aldous Huxley’s 1931 classic Brave New World is probably one of the best-known dystopian novels of all time, and for good reason. It describes topics of distraction, conditioning, socialization and the role of the outsider, and the struggle between happiness and freedom. The first word that jumps to mind (besides brilliant) is scary. Really scary. I didn’t feel uncomfortable the way I did with 1984, but I did feel very creeped out in a much subtler way. While 1984 is a very in-your-face injustice, Brave New World has a more quiet way of getting under your skin and making you realize something is wrong with the picture. There are many struggles of morals and ethics represented in the story and characters, and while this book is pretty divisive, I stand on the side of liking it. There were things I agreed with and things I really didn’t that Huxley evidently believed in, but I appreciated this book because it gave me a chance to struggle with the issues for myself. Even though I didn’t always agree with Huxley about what makes a dystopia, there is no doubt many of the elements of the World State are very frightening in a lot of ways.. Pair with 1984 and/or Handmaid’s Tale for best results.
- @freckleface675 of the Teen Review Board of the Hamilton Public Library

This was an interesting enough look at a Utopian world. The citizens are "decanted", not born; their role in life is pre-determined, they lead lives that include very little unhappiness & discontent. There is plenty of sex and drugs, easy work, no hunger, no problems.
The story, however, is pretty simplistic; the dialogue sometimes is stilted; the characters say & do things that seem out of character for them as a means of making the story go in the direction required; the characters are shallow and 2-dimensional (but, perhaps that's the society being portrayed?).
The plot itself wasn't that interesting to me either. There wasn't much action other than Soma "vacations", talk of sex, going to the "Feelies"......but then, this is the society that Huxley is portraying; this is as deep as it gets....for a lifetime. I thought the Huxley was trying to engage us in the society but it's not an exciting society and boredom starts to build.

This dystopian classic blends a bleak but advanced future, full of new inventions and practices, with a classic plot of love, self-discovery, and tragedy. Huxley's book, although over eighty years old, still reads very fresh and entertaining. I also enjoy when some of the characters go on philosophical tangents. I can't decide if Lenina's perspective, the main female character, is dated or perhaps descriptive of the future's effect on women; she seems shallow, only coming in touch with her surface emotions. A great read, I'm interested to check out more of Aldous Huxley's work.

Summary

This book is about a Utopian society and how the world controls people's behavior and how they control reproduction. But one person tries to understand the real meaning of life by meeting people in the Savage Reservation.

From the lonely man to the man with all the attention! This book is a roller coaster. From a mad society to insane customs, an unlikely relationship forms. Intelligence grows, yet dangers arise. Unexpected characters come with crazy results.

In a future where babies are created in tubes, sex is the main pastime, everyone is always happy (or on soma), hypnotism is considered learning, and there can be 96 people created from a single embryo, we follow the lives of a few upper class citizens (and one other) as they discover what it means to be different in a world where everything is the same.

Aldous Huxley predicted however many years into the future with this book Brave New World.
the book (Brave New World) is about a perfect dystopia. the different societys/ social classes. In this book drugs, sex and artificial intelligents are apart of society.

FavouriteFiction
Sep 30, 2009

In the world of the future regular sex and drugs are a part of life and babies are not born but created - designed for the type of work they will do as adults.